The Kerala model

 When, towards the end of the first decade of the present century, Narendra Modi began speaking frequently about something he called the 'Gujarat Model', it was the second time a state of the Indian Union had that grand, self-promoting, suffix added to its name. The first was Kerala. The origins of the term 'Kerala Model' go back to a study done in the 1970s by economists associated with the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram. This showed that when it came to indices of population (as in declining birth rates), education (as in remarkably high literacy for women) and health (as in lower infant mortality and higher life expectancy), this small state in a desperately poor country had done as well - and sometimes better - than parts of Europe and North America.

Boosted to begin with by economists and demographers, Kerala soon came in for praise from sociologists and political scientists. The former argued that caste and class distinctions had radically diminished in Kerala over the course of the 20th century; the latter showed that, when it came to implementing the provisions of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution, Kerala was ahead of other states. More power had been devolved to municipalities and panchayats than elsewhere in India.

Success, as John F. Kennedy famously remarked, has many fathers (while failure is an orphan). When these achievements of the state of Kerala became widely known, many groups rushed to claim their share of the credit. The communists, who had been in power for long stretches, said it was their economic radicalism that did it. Followers of Sri Narayana Guru (1855-1928) said it was the egalitarianism promoted by that great social reformer which led to much of what followed. Those still loyal to the royal houses of Travancore and Cochin observed that when it came to education, and especially girls' education, their Rulers were more progressive than Maharajas and Nawabs elsewhere. The Christian community of Kerala also chipped in, noting that some of the best schools, colleges, and hospitals were run by the Church. It was left to that fine Australian historian of Kerala and India, Robin Jeffrey, to critically analyse all these claims, and demonstrate in what order and what magnitude they contributed. His book Politics, Women and Wellbeing remains the definitive work on the subject.

Such were the elements of the 'Kerala Model'. What did the 'Gujarat Model' that Narendra Modi began speaking of, c. 2007, comprise? Mr Modi did not himself ever define it very precisely. But there is little doubt that the coinage itself was inspired and provoked by what had preceded it. The Gujarat Model would, Mr Modi was suggesting, be different from, and better than, the Kerala Model. Among the noticeable weaknesses of the latter was that it did not really encourage private enterprise. Marxist ideology and trade union politics both inhibited this. On the other hand, the Vibrant Gujarat Summits organized once every two years when Mr Modi was Chief Minister were intended precisely to attract private investment.

This openness to private capital was, for Mr Modi's supporters, undoubtedly the most attractive feature of what he was marketing as the 'Gujarat Model'. It was this that brought to him the support of big business, and of small business as well, when he launched his campaign for Prime Minister. Young professionals, disgusted by the cronyism and corruption of the UPA regime, flocked to his support, seeing him as a modernizing Messiah who would make India an economic powerhouse. 

With the support of these groups, and many others, Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in May 2014.

There were other aspects of the Gujarat Model that Narendra Modi did not speak about, but which those who knew the state rather better than the Titans of Indian industry were perfectly aware of. These included the relegation of minorities (and particularly Muslims) to second-class status; the centralization of power in the Chief Minister and the creation of a cult of personality around him; attacks on the independence and autonomy of universities; curbs on the freedom of the press; and, not least, a vengeful attitude towards critics and political rivals.

These darker sides of the Gujarat Model were all played down in Mr Modi's Prime Ministerial campaign. But in the six years since he has been in power at the Centre, they have become starkly visible. The communalization of politics and of popular discourse, the capturing of public institutions, the intimidation of the press, the use of the police and investigating agencies to harass opponents, and, perhaps above all, the deification of the Great Leader by the party, the Cabinet, the Government, and the Godi Media - these have characterized the Prime Ministerial tenure of Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the most widely advertised positive feature of the Gujarat Model before 2014 has proved to be a dud. Far from being a free-market reformer, Narendra Modi has demonstrated that he is an absolute statist in economic matters. As an investment banker who once enthusiastically supported him recently told me in disgust: "Narendra Modi is our most left-wing Prime Minister ever - he is even more left-wing than Jawaharlal Nehru".

Which brings me back to the Kerala Model, which the Gujarat Model sought to replace or supplant. Talked about a great deal in the 1980s and 1990s, in recent years, the term was not much heard in policy discourse any more. It had fallen into disuse, presumably consigned to the dustbin of history. The onset of COVID-19 has now thankfully rescued it, and indeed brought it back to centre-stage. For in how it has confronted, tackled, and tamed the COVID crisis, Kerala has once again showed itself to be a model for India - and perhaps the world.

There has been some excellent reporting on how Kerala flattened the curve. It seems clear that there is a deeper historical legacy behind the success of this state. Because the people of Kerala are better educated, they have followed the practices in their daily life least likely to allow community transmission. Because they have such excellent health care, if people do test positive, they can be treated promptly and adequately. Because caste and gender distinctions are less extreme than elsewhere in India, access to health care and medical information is less skewed. Because decentralization of power is embedded in systems of governance, panchayat heads do not have to wait for a signal from a Big Boss before deciding to act. There are two other features of Kerala's political culture that have helped them in the present context; its top leaders are generally more grounded and less imperious than elsewhere, and bipartisanship comes more easily to the state's politicians.

The state of Kerala is by no means perfect. While there have been no serious communal riots for many decades, in everyday life there is still some amount of reserve in relations between Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Casteism and patriarchy have been weakened, but by no means eliminated. The intelligentsia still remain unreasonably suspicious of private enterprise, which will hurt the state greatly in the post-COVID era, after remittances from the Gulf have dried up.

For all their flaws, the state and people of Kerala have many things to teach us, who live in the rest of India. We forgot about their virtues in the past decade, but now these virtues are once more being discussed, to both inspire and chastise us. The success of the state in the past and in the present have rested on science, transparency, decentralization, and social equality. These are, as it were, the four pillars of the Kerala Model. On the other hand, the four pillars of the Gujarat Model are superstition, secrecy, centralization, and communal bigotry. Give us the first over the second, any day. 

 

https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/give-us-kerala-model-over-gujarat-model-any-day-by-ramachandra-guha-2216254

The political significance of Nilakkal.

Today I learnt that Nilakkal, a place near the foothills of sabarimala, has a more prominent history than what most people have known. The village is known as the place for RSS backed religious groups to gather and group. It sits right on the path towards the hillock, which means anyone trekking up the hill can be checked there. I had wondered why is this place chosen for the conflict , instead of a place further downhill ? And I found the true answer only recently.

It seems this place has always been the site for religion driven conflict. At least from 1983. That year a stone cross was found at Nilakkal, on land owned by the Kerala Farming Corporation, barely 200 metres from the Shiva temple.The next day, followers of Mathew Anthiyakulam, vicar of the nearby Pamba Valley Church, arrived at the spot singing devotional songs. Claiming the cross was a remnant of the ancient church established by St Thomas, they built a thatched shed over it and started holding daily prayers. Soon after, the Kerala Catholic Congress, an organisation of the laity, set up a Nilakkal Action Council to prepare for the construction of a church at the site. On the council’s request, the state’s Congress government allotted it one hectare (2.4 acres) of land close to the temple for the church construction.

Christians believed that St Thomas, one of Jesus Christ's 12 disciples, had travelled to Kerala and established 7 churches, and that one of them was at Nilakkal. The hindus who traditionally visited the temples at Nilakkal saw this as a conspiracy, and convened their own agitation against the 'christian takeover'. They claimed there was no proof of St Thomas’s visit to India or of his having established churches. They demanded the removal of the cross, alleging it was of recent origin and had been planted on 'Hindu holy land'.

The main leader of this agitation was a certain Mr Kummanam Rajasekharan, who was then a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader.Rajashekaran accused the government of sacrificing the interests of Hindus to get Christian votes.

Things quickly took a violent turn, which lasted months. Even K Karunakaran, who was the chief minister, was not spared.

Karunakaran was in the habit of praying at the Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur on the first day of the Malayalam months. As usual, he reached the temple on May 15, 1983, for morning prayers. As soon as he entered the temple, a huge gathering of people affiliated to the then Sangh Parivar platform Hindu Aikyavedi prevented him from offering prayers. They accused Karunakaran of illegally handing over land holy to the Hindus at Nilakkal for the construction of a church.

The developments in Nilakkal led to a massive Hindu mobilisation. Violating prohibitory orders, the RSS organised a protest march in Thiruvananthapuram. More than 1,000 of its workers and those of the Hindu Munnanireligious group were arrested from across the state for unleashing violence. In Nilakkal, RSS and Hindu Munnani activists dismantled the thatched shed and manhandled Christians. Tensions soared after Hindu Munnani activist Koorambala Chandran Pillai died weeks after being injured in a police lathicharge.

On June 4, 1983, Nilakkal witnessed an intense hour-long battle as the police tried to disperse a throng of rock-throwing VHP activists with batons and teargas. The clash left 50 injured while 30 protestors, included nine ascetics, were arrested. The VHP said they would not allow a church anywhere near the temple or even within range of the 18 hills surrounding the Sabarimala shrine, asserting that the area belonged to Hindus alone.

On July 16, 1983, hundreds of VHP workers gathered again in Nilakkal for a protest meeting with night-long prayers and rituals. Prominent religious figures such as Vidyananda Saraswathi and Sathyananda Saraswati addressed the crowd.

The next day, Hindu temples across Kerala flew black pennants to protest the church construction plan. In the following days, thousands of Hindus donning black cloths over their mouths and on their hands marched on the streets of all the major towns and cities of Kerala, condemning the police action and arrest of holy men in Nilakkal.

Coinciding with the protests in Nilakkal, two Catholic churches were attacked with homemade bombs, 15 state transport busses were vandalised and 28 protestors arrested.

The violence prompted the government to ban the activities of the Hindu Unity Action Council.

Peace was finally restored after Gandhian MP Manmadhan held discussions with both sides. A meeting of Kerala bishops was held and it was decided that the cross would be relocated to a place agreed upon by both action councils. The church would be built at this spot 4 km south-west of the temple, well outside the area the Hindu side identified as Ayyappa’s sacred grove. The spot where the cross was originally found is now part of a parking lot for pilgrims to Sabarimala.

A small church dedicated to St Thomas now stands in Angamoozhy, the spot that was agreed upon all those years ago. Very few of those who visit it know of its history or its role in what may well be the largest communal flare-up in Kerala’s history.

What makes this church different from others is that it follows the principle of ecumenism, which promotes unity among the various Christian churches. Kerala’s Christian community comprises numerous denominations, prominent among them being the Syrian Catholic, Orthodox, Marthoma and Jacobite churches.

The Sangh Parivar began the process to communalise Kerala in 1983 by hipping up a frenzy against the plan to construct a small church close to the Mahadeva temple in Nilakkal. In a way, Nilakkal is a milestone in the Sangh Parivar’s growth in Kerala.

So you see, Nilakkal has been the centrepoint of violent history in the past, and therefore continues to be the first place supporters of RSS would congregate at for their future political stands.

The Vices of Malayalis, and how the state lives on it

Came across a much needed, and nicely researched article on how the state of Kerala, India, feeds off the taxes paid by its poorest citizens. Keralites, you see, have a penchant for alcohol, and lotteries. And both of these are controlled largely by the state government. A third vice is finance instrument called chit-funds, a remnant of a once stronger economy. Some of the figures being reported in this article is truly scary; and its all debt !

Kerala’s is an interesting, if not curious, economy.  The cash-strapped state -- it has a debt ratio of over 30 per cent -- the highest and most deteriorating debt among all states since 2013 -- is keeping its finances alive through the vices of its people - heavy alcohol consumption and penchant for lottery tickets. The state government has the monopoly to sell alcohol, through the Kerala State Beverages Corporation or Bevco, while the ‘gambling-type’ addiction of buying lotteries of its people is fed through the Lotteries Department, which sells lakhs of lottery tickets on a daily basis. At over 8 litres per person per year, Kerala has alcohol consumption per person per year compared to the national average of 5.7 litres per person per year. The sales tax on alcohol has been going up from 20 per cent in 1960-61 to 210 per cent now.

As per the latest data, the income from the lottery for 2017-18 stands at Rs 9,034.16 crore while the revenue from liquor sales (state excise + sales tax) stood at Rs 12,937.09 crore in the same period. Add to this is the bumper sales during festivals like Onam. In the pre-Onam week alone, Bevco sold a whopping Rs 487 crore worth liquor while the lottery tickets offer eye-popping prize money of Rs 16 crore.

“The entire approach of the state government is flawed and regressive. To manage its coffers, Kerala Government is not only punishing the poorest but it is also encouraging them to buy an addictive product like lottery by selling dreams,” said Jose Sebastian, who teaches at the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation.

“It’s no secret who’s consuming most liquor and who’s buying the lottery tickets. It’s mostly the poorest sections of society. Gujarat neither sells liquor or lottery, yet it is the top-performing state in the country,” he said.

According to a study by Sebastian, Kerala has a wide tax base covering various sections of people and different kinds of economic activities. This is not reflected in the revenue collection. “Virtually, the effective revenue base has been getting narrowed down to four items -- petroleum and petrol products, liquor of all kinds, motor vehicles and lottery,” he said.

“An unintended consequence of the evolution of Kerala’s revenue structure is that it places a disproportionately high burden on the poor and marginalised sections of society. They are the major consumers of liquor and lottery. The share of these two in SOR increased from 14.77 per cent in 1970-71 to 34.46 per cent in 2016-17. Motor vehicles like three-wheelers, pickup vans and taxis powered by petroleum products are the source of livelihood for many of this class,” he said.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said the LDF Government and its Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac have been adopting a policy of borrowing and continued borrowing to meet the day-to-day needs. “Hard decisions such as hiking education fees, concessions for students travel or the property tax, which have not been touched for several decades, are not taken as it will backfire politically,” he said.

Vijayakumar pointed out that property tax has not been hiked since 1995 while students continue to travel at nominal rates though they have no qualms in spending thousands on mobile bills or on autos/share cabs every month.

Another big consumption by the state is gold, but it now comes under the Goods and Services Tax. Recently, the Finance Minister lamented that the state government gets less than Rs 200 crore as tax from gold sales while under the scrapped Value Added Tax (VAT) regime it used to fetch Rs 750 crore. Kerala is the top consumer of the yellow metal and Isaac blamed lack of preparedness and absence of invoices for the ‘huge leakages’ in GST revenue. Economist K V Joseph pointed out that the tuition fees in government medical colleges are as low as Rs 25,000 while in private colleges it is Rs 5.5-6.5 lakh yearly.

“While lower-income bracket people and SC/ST category can be exempted from higher fees, the government should look at hiking fees for those from higher-income families,” he said. Joseph advocated similar hike in taxes from forestry and land/property registration and taxes.

Geojit’s Vijayakumar blamed the state government for spending recklessly when the state coffers are drying up. “The state’s debt is Rs 1.5 lakh crore. When the state is in deep debt, the government has spent Rs 5.90 crore on politically accommodating VS Achuthanandan in Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission. Our Public Service Commission has 21 members while Madhya Pradesh PSC has just four members and Gujarat seven. All these members are paid over Rs 1.5 lakh per month. The government would do well to cut its unnecessary expenditure first when the state is in deep financial crisis,” he said.

Will Finance Minister Isaac think out of the box to find new revenue models? Will he bite the bullet? No chance when the state is heading for an election season -- the byelections followed by the local body polls in 2020, and the Assembly polls in 2021.

Another addictive habit of Malayalees is joining money-saving scheme or chits or chitties, which combine the advantages of both investment and advance. No wonder, while most Kerala PSUs are loss-making or white elephants, the Kerala State Financial Enterprises or KSFE, which runs chitties of several sizes, is flourishing. Compared to unofficial chits run by individuals, which are illegal, the KSFE chits are risk-free safe haven for the public as the institution conducts only chitties fully governed by provisions of the Central Chit Fund Act 1982.

Virus - 2019 Malayalam movie

Working in healthcare is not easy. Healthcare profesisonals have always surprised me, and some of those moments have been the closest I have been to real 'miracle workers'. These folks, the work they do, actually saves lives. Working in healthcare is to dedicate one's life to a lifetime of service to others. And there will be days that service could be a personal sacrifice to the caregiver. There have been numerous stories , movies and tales of the heroism shown by doctors , nurses and paramedical officers.

Malayalam movie too finally got a movie which told a story of heroism. The movie is called Virus (2019), and it describes the events of the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, India. Although the event itself got wide media coverage in India and abroad, a detailed telling of the actual events has been missing till date. Here, one can finally get to see a near-reality replay of the events.

First of all, a fantastic cast. One of those rare Malayalam movies which has starpower, but no overbearing superstar syndrome. Spot on casting, every actor is apt for their characters. Every characther in the movie is based on on or more real life persons. Second, there is a hollywood like treatment to everything; the story, the cinematography, music, and dialogues. Edge of the seat tension grips the full movie, with a little bit of humour and hope sprinkled all over. The overall feeling is of optimism, and a call to come and work together in times of need.

The story picks up half way through the outbreak, and employs numerous flashbacks to connect the stories of all the characters involved. A fantastic approach, but I felt some flashbacks were not obvious; there were not enough pointers to convey the actual time of that story unfolding. Could have been a little more efficient. But the highlight is when the healthworkers come together to build the full chain of events , linking all of the victims together, starting from patient 0, to everyone affected during the outbreak. They do this by interviewing all the survivors, bystanders , hospital staff and random villagers. They also go through hours of CCTV footage, and even look at their social media and phone usage !

It is good to see malayalam movies again exploring the genre of real-life events, and telling real stories, of real people, instead of fantasy. Expecting more to come, but it should not take a virus outbreak to inspire movie makers.

Virus is streaming on Amazon prime now. Go watch it, before it incubates.

Kappa connection

I was in the local Indian store this week, and in the freezer section, saw a packet of..wait for it…tapioca ! Called casava in some countries, it is lovingly called 'kappa' and even 'kolli' in God's own. At one point, it used to be the food of the poor, who could not afford to buy rice. But today, it is packed, frozen and sent to practically every country to be enjoyed in its simplicity. And back in Kerala, it is now available in top hotels and restaurants.

What wonderful times we live in !

Which reminded me Kerala's long lasting connection with the tuber.  Visakam Thirunnal Rama Verma  ruled only for five years in the 1880s, fell ill and died at 48, relatively young per today's living standards. It was this king who introduced the vegetable to these shores. Tapioca or manioca was brought from South America as a viable alternative to tackle food famine. It was planted on the edge of Kawdiar palace surroundings and that area came to be known as Maracheeni veela. The dhobbie wash area and royal pond was in this region once uoat. Later became the first housing subdivision for government senior leaders and renamed Jawahar Nagar. The utility or some other documents still record it as marcheeni veela. Swami Vivekananda made his historic stay in Tvpm, speaking at this place. The combination of kappa cheeni tapioca with fish later emerged as a balanced nutritional option meeting protein and calorie requirements.

This is probably why none of the other south Indian states seem to have any recepies using the tapioca. It is best enjoyed simply boiled, with some fish curry. Kerala style fish curry.

1947 was a year of changes, and in south India, the kings and queens were being asked to give up their reign and kingdoms. Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore was the last queen of that region of Kerala. While she served fried fish to her English guests, her cooks prepared and shaped kappa into an imitation, so she could eat keeping her religious beliefs !

How extraordinary !

But as recent as the fifties, there was a government initiative to introduce tapioca based western cuisine to the people of Kerala. While it was a famine which brought kappa to us, it was another famine which led the EMS Government of 1957 to rethink the kappa plans. At the time, Kerala produced a little less than half the rice it needed to feed its people.

The audacious plan was to start the production of tapioca based macaroni, yes the Italian food macaroni, to Malayalees. Originally called synthetic rice,  CFTRI in Mysore developed it as a remedy for rice shortage.

“The Institute has recognised the need to reduce the pressure on rice. One of the ways of doing it is by making use of tapioca… The Institute has begun making macaroni by mixing 60 parts of tapioca flour with 25 parts of wheat flour and 15 parts of groundnut flour (for protein)."

Predicably, the plan went nowhere. Because the people hated it. Thank goodness.  The communist government was ridiculed for introducing western food to the poor. Read this fantastic retelling of the great macaroni scandal.

So Malayalees today enjoy kappa in its truest, simplest form, without any western interruption.

Keep calm and eat kappa.

Migrant story

Kerala was a net in-migrating state till 1930s. The state's rich natural wealth of spices, coconut, teak and ivory brought foreigners to the state from as early as third millennium BCE. Different merchant communities from within the country also came to the state from 19th Century onwards.

Though Keralites are regarded as a highly mobile class of people, the migratory movements from the state are of comparatively recent origin, according to KV Joseph, who studied the pattern of migration from the state. In his study entitled 'Factors and Pattern of Migration: The Kerala Experience', he said that census reports till the end of the 19th Century had portrayed Keralites as home-bound people who don't stir out of their village moorings.

"Simple mode of life with the bulk of the people meeting the bare subsistence needs formed the style of living in Kerala for centuries. At the same time any urge for improving their living conditions by acquiring new goods, or by exerting more effort seemed to be missing among Keralites," the study noted.

Joseph has attributed this to the absence of favourable conditions for migration such as frequent droughts, famines, poor economic conditions and population pressure. When these conditions forced millions of people from rest of India to move out under 'indenture' and 'kangani' systems of labour recruitment, Keralites stayed put in the state.

According to the study, 1.36 crores Indians crossed the borders of India and migrated to various parts of the world between 1824-25 and 1896-1900. Most of them were from Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Andhra regions where conditions of abject poverty and misery prevailed.

Historians believe that Keralites did not prefer the assisted migration because of their great sense of independence and higher levels of literacy. They started migrating only when semi-skilled and quasi professional jobs became available in early 20th Century. However, it acquired the characteristics of a stream since then leading to different waves of migration.

Large-scale migration from Kerala started after the World War II, when the army and other defence forces started recruiting large number of young men. This gave educated Keralites employment opportunities. More than 1.5 lakh people joined the army and civilian labour force from Travancore alone in the initial phase of the recruitment. Hundreds of thousands of young men were enrolled in the army from Cochin and Malabar regions also.

Demand for labour came not only from army but also from other sectors of the economy connected with the war. This, along with massive development programme launched soon after Independence also opened up huge opportunities for educated Keralites. The surge in industrial activity led to huge demand for skilled workers and educated persons in various states of the country.

According to Joseph, this served as pull factors to the migratory movements from Kerala which was in the forefront of educational development. This transformed the state from a net in-migration area to net out-migration area. Out-migrants from Kerala as a percentage to state population accounted for only 3.69 percent in 1961. This went up to 4.44 percent by 1981. The state accounted for 4.74 of the total inter-state migrants in the country in 1981.

Though migrants from Kerala can be found in almost all types of occupations, their presence is more conspicuous in the "employment of' office personnel as typists, stenographers, accountants and clerks".

After breaking off the initial inertia, there was no stopping for the home-bound Keralites. They started exploring opportunities everywhere. Soon, educated young men started moving to the West as well with the US becoming a favourite destination for engineers, doctors, business executives, accountants and paramedical professionals like nurses. Keralites, who started moving to the US after Independence, formed roughly 10 percent of the Indian population there, according to studies.

However, the discovery of oil in the Gulf in 1966 was the major trigger for the biggest stream of migration from Kerala. This came when potential migrants from the state were put in a predicament by the shrinking employment opportunities in other parts of India. The massive construction activities spurred by the oil boom in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates also attracted the migrants.

The ethnic connections between the Mappilla Muslims of Malabar and the Arabs (the former is believed to be descendants of Arab merchants) and the maritime trade relations Kerala had with countries in the West Asia since ancient times made matters easy for the potential migrants in Kerala.

The migrants made best use of these favourable conditions by working hard without complaining about the working conditions, said S Irudaya Rajan, who has done a number of studies on migration from and its impact, dispelling stereotypes associated with Malayalis being lazy and complaining.

While a Malayali considers manual job inferior to his status and always fight for their rights in Kerala, he transforms completely once he steps out of the state, says Rajan, who is the chair professor of the research unit on International Migration under the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. Once he is outside, the Malayali is ready to do any job, including the manual jobs without complaining about the remuneration or his rights.

Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar Kanwar, who is struggling to keep two tyre manufacturing units running in Kerala in the face of frequent labour struggles, is amazed by this transformation; "If Malyalis are ready to do half the work that they do in Gulf, Kerala can easily become another Dubai." This observation made by the Apollo group head at an investors' meet at Kochi a few years ago is perhaps the best testimony to the goodwill enjoyed the Malayali Diaspora.

The migration to the Gulf has left a deep impact on the socio-economic front of the state. Though the remittances they brought has helped the state in reducing poverty, unemployment and relative deprivation, its fallout on the people depending on the migrants both directly and indirectly is huge. The Gulf migration has adversely affected one million married women, two million children and four million aged people, who have been left behind by the migrants.

Changes

 

മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചട്ടങ്ങളെ !
മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചട്ടങ്ങളെ  സ്വയമല്ലെങ്കിൽ
മറ്റുമതുകളീ  നിങ്ങളെ  താൻ
മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചട്ടങ്ങളെ
കാലം  വൈകിപ്പോയി , കേവലചാച്ചര
നൂലുകളെല്ലാം  പഴകിപ്പോയ്  ,
കെട്ടിനിറുത്താണ്  കഴിയാതെ  ദുര്ബലപ്പെട്ട  ചരടിൽ  ജനത  നിൽക്കാം
മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചട്ടങ്ങളെ  സ്വയമല്ലെങ്കിൽ
മറ്റുമതുകളീ  നിങ്ങളെ  താൻ
മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചട്ടങ്ങളെ !
മാറ്റൊലിക്കൊണ്ടീ  മൊഴിതന്നെ  സർവദാ
കട്ടിരുമ്പുന്നിന്നു  കേരളത്തിൽ
നാലുപാടും  നിന്നതു  തന്നെ   ചൊല്ലുന്നു
കാലവും  നിങ്ങളിന്നോന്നി  നിൽക്കും
കാലിന്നടിയിലുംഅസ്വസ്ഥതയുടെ 
കോലാഹലങ്ങൾ  മുഴങ്ങിടുന്നു
മാറ്റുവിൻ  ചടങ്ങെളെ  സ്വയമല്ലെങ്കിൽ
മറ്റുമതുകളീ  നിങ്ങളെ  താൻ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#sabarimala

Changes from the past

 

Pictures from an exhibition arranged at VJT Hall in Trivandrum to mark the 82nd anniversary celebrations of the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936, which abolished the ban on 'lower castes' or avarnas from entering Hindu temples in Travancore.

There are accounts highlighting the extent of untouchability, caste discrimination, and restrictions on women a century ago. A few exhibits explain the specific distances which the members of various castes had to maintain between them. The brutal treatment meted out to workers from ‘lower castes’ and the ‘Villuvandi yatra’ of social reformer Ayyankali in claiming the right of way by defying conventions that applied to the ‘untouchables’ are explained. Besides explaining the circumstances that led to the proclamation, the expo also highlights Mahatma Gandhi’s last visit to Kerala to participate in the celebrations held at the present University College grounds in 1937 to mark the declaration.

 

Misrabhojanam (Panthibhojanam), held on May 30, 1917 by social reformer Sahodaran Ayyappan. Misrabhojanam was the first inter caste feast of Kerala. Prior to this, each caste had their stricter caste codes in food consumption and hence food was seen as a symbol of caste.

A school in Oorutambalam, Travancore was burned down in 1911 by Upper caste Hindus. Reason : School was polluted by the admission of a Dalit Child named Panchami.

 

In 1806, a group of 200 Avarna youth organized themselves to enter Vaikom Temple. The Travancore cavalry led by Kunju Kutti Pilla ruthlessly killed the 200 men & their bodies were thrown into the Kulam (pond) on the north eastern side of the temple compound.

Kallumala Samaram (Stone Necklace Protest) On December 21st 1915 at Kollam, women belonging to Pulaya (Dalit) community threw away the Kallumala (ornaments made out of stone & woods) and proclaimed that they will only use gold or metal ornaments under the leadership of Ayyankali.

Abolition of Thalayara (poll tax) and Valayara (net tax).

Mookkuthi Samaram Ezhava women were also disallowed from wearing the mookkuthi or nose-stud. In 1859, an Ezhava woman in Pandalam marked her protest by wearing a mookkuthi and she was beaten up. Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker supported the Ezhava women.

 

"What is your caste?" Kerala Kaumudi - Jan 1925. An Ezhava man was punished for entering a tea shop of an upper caste.

Here is the proclamation of 1865 banning slavery.

 

During Guruvayoor Satyagraha in September 1931, P Krishna Pillai became the first non-Brahmin to ring the sacred bell at the Guruvayoor temple ignoring the Guards of Zamorin. Guruvayoor Temple was closed for many days.

 

A temple that didn’t allow women Like Sabarimala, the Thiruvalla Shreevallaba temple did not allow women to enter the naalambalam. In 1841, when a woman entered the temple, rituals were conducted to “purify” it. It was in 1960 that women began coming to the naalambalam.

The Namboothiri Mana which denied Gandhiji and others entry as they were "impure of darshan of lowly people" is now a toddy workers'union office under the CITU.

 

 

From a Lunatic Asylum to Gods own country, Kerala's ride has been a tough one, where every section of the society has played a vital role.

Reads like fiction : The oracle executive who changed his identity to escape law.

 

I had the habit of reading detective fiction, and espionage novels during high school and college. But later the hobby died a gradual death as I got busy with work. Now I just read the news. But gone are the days of simple, straightforward news. Now the crimes being reported are stranger than fiction.

This week I read this bizarre news of this murderer who changed his identity from a Malayali to a Gujarathi to escape law for 15 years. He was finally caughtcaught because he was still in touch with his loving mother, of all people.

On Thursday, Pravin Bhateley, a senior manager working with Oracle Private Limited on Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru, was arrested by the Ahmedabad police. But strangely, Kiran Chowdhury, the inspector dressed as an employee of the IT company who came to arrest Pravin, said, "Hello Tarun, it's over... Let's go."

 

Read TNM’s excellent coverage of the news.

 

Oracle ! Seems like a right fit for him.

 

 

 

Faith and Reason Are Irreconcilable

 

Faith is a tricky subject. Once people believe deeply in some stories, they are not available for reason any longer. I think its best explained by the scientist of our times.

 

Well, so let me say that differently. All efforts that have been invested by brilliant people of the past have failed at that exercise. They just fail. And so I don’t, the track record is so poor that going forward, I have essentially zero confidence, near zero confidence, that there will be fruitful things to emerge from the effort to reconcile them. So, for example, if you knew nothing about science, and you read, say, the Bible, the Old Testament, which in Genesis, is an account of nature, that’s what that is, and I said to you, give me your description of the natural world based only on this, you would say the world was created in six days, and that stars are just little points of light much lesser than the sun. And that in fact, they can fall out of the sky, right, because that’s what happens during the Revelation.

You know, one of the signs that the second coming, is that the stars will fall out of the sky and land on Earth. To even write that means you don’t know what those things are. You have no concept of what the actual universe is. So everybody who tried to make proclamations about the physical universe based on Bible passages got the wrong answer.

So what happened was, when science discovers things, and you want to stay religious, or you want to continue to believe that the Bible is unerring, what you would do is you would say, “Well, let me go back to the Bible and reinterpret it.” Then you’d say things like, “Oh, well they didn’t really mean that literally. They meant that figuratively.”

So, this whole sort of reinterpretation of the, how figurative the poetic passages of the Bible are came after science showed that this is not how things unfolded. And so the educated religious people are perfectly fine with that. It’s the fundamentalists who want to say that the Bible is the literally, literal truth of God, that and want to see the Bible as a science textbook, who are knocking on the science doors of the schools, trying to put that content in the science room. Enlightened religious people are not behaving that way. So saying that science is cool, we’re good with that, and use the Bible for, to get your spiritual enlightenment and your emotional fulfillment.

 

 

 

 

“God is the name people give to the reason we are here” – Prof Stephen Hawking

 

 

To wait, or not to wait

Actually, this is not such a difficult question. Those who can’t wait, should go ahead. And those who are willing to wait, well, can wait as long they want.

But should not convince others to do so.

Onam

 

Happy Onam to all you Mallus of the world ! Every year Onam falls in the month of Chingam which is the first month of the solar calendar, according to the Malayalam calendar. And it is a complete 10 days celebration that consists of several rituals starting from floral rangoli, boat races, a grand feast and the traditional attire that makes the festival a day of happiness and merrymaking for everyone around.

 

We celebrated our first Onam here in Australia. Thanks to an already vibrant Keralite community, it was relatively easy to procure all the ingredients for our little grand Ona-sadya (feast) right here in Melbourne. I recall it was comparitively difficult just to get everything in Bangalore.

The state of Kerala, however, had a much more muted celebration. Following in the aftermath of the uncprecendeted rains and floods till last week, the state is still in the middle of a massive rebuilding and rehabilitation programme.  The political slugfest concerning the ‘promised’ foreign funds continue, and petty politics has already tarnished the image of the state and the country as a whole. In short, Kerala is so desperate for funds that it is seeking it directly from other countries, having ruled out the option of tapping its own resources. One of the ways the state government is looking to raise funds is by increasing tax on alcohol. As always, the state is also relying on its reliable army of non-resident Indians to send home remittances and donations for the cause. The irony of the ‘most’ developed state of India is having to figuratively beg for money is not lost.

 

 

But on the other side , the state is now celebrating stories of heroism, bravery and resilience. There was a massive social movement among the masses to not only survive the floods, but to successfully overcome it. The new super heroes without capes are the fishermen, and IAS officers, who went beyond their line of duty to do the right thing. It should be notes, there were no mentions of heroic politicians , just common men doing whatever they could.

And that is the only way to rebuild a nationn.

 

 

PS: Read how M K Gandhi ralied the nation in 1924 to help after the Malabar floods of that year.

Malayalam channels were responsible & calm during the storm

Read a fantastic article summarizing the mature, level-headed approach of Malayalam language television channels during the Kerala floods this month. I have been following the news online and found them reading out the news in a much more calmer, softer and cautious manner than usually seen on other channels. On one hand while they were focussed on disseminating timely information, they also remembered to clamp down on fake news doing the rounds and also acted as distress centres themselves. Also of noteworthy mention: giving equal time to all the places affected, instead of just focussing on major cities.

The visible contrast and irony was the relative lack of coverage of the deluge from news media housed in capital of the country. They were still focussed on the Independence day celebrations, demise of Vajpayee, and a certain bollywood/hollywood engagement.

In the on-line space, I found TNM’s coverage the most in-depth and wide spread. That could be because the are based out of Bangalore, in South India.

On August 15, as news channels in the rest of India celebrated Independence Day, Malayalam news channels did not have time to pause. They were in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, with flood waters engulfing large portions of the state. This was a disaster of unimaginable proportions, and in the wrong hands, the coverage of the floods, too, could have been disastrous.
Luckily for Kerala, the Malayalam TV channels in the state decided to keep calm and deal with the crisis in the only right way to do it: with absolute maturity and zero theatrics. No one dived into water or got into a metaphorical bathtub. No one screamed or took credit for ‘being the first’ or ‘being the best’. They all prioritised being responsible instead.
Take News 18 Malayalam for instance. After a quick editorial meeting on August 15, the channel decided to change their entire layout. In place of the regular breaking news ticker, they introduced many layers of graphics for information dissemination.
The big decision taken at the meeting was to introduce a ticker called 'Good News'. At a time when Kerala was panicking, and rumours of dams bursting were spreading like wildfire, the 'Good News' ticker relentlessly told viewers about how much the water level was coming down in each reservoir, and relayed weather predictions. Another ticker told people not to panic, asked them to be careful, and communicated warnings issued by the Kerala government.
Distress calls
Improvising their coverage to help people caught in the worst flood that the state has faced in a century had become a priority for all channels, and each one rose to the occasion. Manorama News, News 18 Malayalam, Mathrubhumi, Asianet, Reporter Live, Jai Hind, Kaumudy, Janam and Media One, all served as distress call centres.
"We put out a number on which people could call us. People were frantic, they were not sure who could help. They wanted us to hand over their numbers to the CM’s office, to the Army, NDRF or Navy, to whoever could provide help,” recalls Johny Lukose, the Editor of Manorama News. “We confirmed people's locations and then handed over the information to the CM's office, that was co-coordinating with distress calls," he says.
Most of these channels received thousands of calls on their helpline, and many of them also suspend all ad breaks in order to show continuous coverage of floods. "The location of each person and their contact number was handed over to the CM’s office. We also made medical emergencies a priority," says an editor with News 18.
While all the channels carried a small portion of the distress calls they received on air, they wrote down details of each call, to hand to over to authorities and relief collectors. An editor with Reporter Live channel says that their web team has been so busy coordinating rescue and relief, that they hardly had time to update their own website. This was a big sacrifice, as a lot of revenue for media networks is through their online clicks.  
Asianet News received more than 45,000 distress calls in four days and they managed this massive volume by tying up with an IAS academy in Thiruvananthapuram. "We had given out a number to which people could SMS details if they or their relatives were stranded. Twenty staff members and 120 students of the 'I Learn' IAS Academy called back on these numbers and took down locations. These were then plotted on Google maps and handed over to rescue teams," says Vinu V John, Senior Co-ordinating Editor of Asianet News.
The channels also became platforms where people offered help real time. News 18 Malayalam believes that a crucial turn in their coverage was when Father Theodosius, from the Thiruvananthapuram Latin Archdiocese called on their helpline number and told the anchor on live that the diocese wanted to send 60 fishing boats for rescue missions, but wanted government help to understand where. The channel immediately called Kadakampally Surendran, an MLA from the capital city and Minister for Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom. He then called the diocese and immediately came back on the channel to announce that the government will transport these fishing boats and fishermen to areas where their help was needed.
After receiving multiple distress call from a location in Aluva in Ernakulam district, Asianet News arranged for a few fishermen and boats to be transported to the location. "We all had to combine journalism and rescue and relief efforts," says Vinu.
Tackling Fake News
By August 16, fake news, especially on the safety of dams, was spreading far and wide adding to the panic. ‘Malampuzha dam shutters to open in full capacity’, ‘Mullaperiyar dam has developed cracks’, ‘power to be cut all across Kerala’, were some of the alarming messages. Then, the News 18 team decided to introduce a new ticker to debunk fake news. The ticker would constantly display a rumour and call it out by pointing out what the fact was.
Manorama Online introduced a section called 'CrossChecked' and debunked fake news. From ‘a dangerous snake that could kill many with its venom’ to ‘chicken pox spreading in camps’, all kinds of rumours were laid to rest.
A positive outlook
While it would have been easy to paint a grim picture and fill the bulletins with tales of sorrow and struggle, most channels decided to play a role in the rebuilding of the state.
Mathrubhumi News is running a campaign called #WeShallOvercome asking for more relief, money into the Chief Minister's fund, and for stories of hope.
News 18 Malayalam launched two campaigns on August 20. One called 'Open your hearts, Open your homes' asking people to open up their houses to give temporary accommodation to those who did not have a house to go back to. The channel received 60 calls from Good Samaritans just in the first hour after the campaign was introduced. The list of names were handed over to government authorities in each district. The second campaign called 'Onam with them' urged viewers to donate a little bit of what they had kept aside for Onam celebrations to those impacted by the floods.
Although flood waters have receded in almost all places, Kerala faces the monumental task of cleaning and repairing, so that people from relief camps can go back to their houses. Asianet News has arranged 50 Mahindra jeeps to transport NSS volunteers in Chengannur, one of the regions worst affected by floods, to clean houses.
Many channels are planning to collect funds for fishermen whose boats were damaged during rescue missions.
Mature coverage 
The bigger news networks like Manorama and Asianet deployed as many reporters as possible on the ground, and telecast live updates continuously on both rescue and relief. Many reporters were stranded in places like Cheruthoni and Munnar, without food or a proper place to stay. With mobile networks crashing, they had to wait for hours to send information to the channel headquarters.
But through the crisis, even when reporters on ground knew their own houses were flooded and were reporting from precarious situations, they kept their calm. There was hardly any screeching or blame-games, even when highly distressed people called the channels or confronted reporters on ground, they were mature. There were aberrations, but largely a lesson for media elsewhere.
As Johnny Lukose points out, "This was a time to help people and put out facts. This was not a time to claim who broke a news first, got the first visual or who helped who."

Priorities

 

 

 

Flood in Kerala

Flood in Kerala. Three words I never thought could be used in such short a sentence. But it’s happening now. Nature’s fury.

Flood

The weather is playing spoilsport down in Kerala. I never thought I would live to see my state flooding up with rainwater. I remember during my childhood, every few months there would be news about a different state in the country going through flood or drought. It was a good way to learn state names. There would be a drought in Gujarath. And then flood in Bihar. Or an earthquake in the hills. And though my state used to get a lot of rain, there was never a news report of flooding. Sometimes the sea would turn fierce, destroying coastal lines. But due to a network of westward flowing rivers and streams, all the water in the state would end up in the sea.

Going to school in the monsoon was simultaneously the most fun and problematic part of growing up. The problem was of course that the incessant rain had other side effects: frequent powercuts. Wet clothes, taking forever to dry. The whole house smelt of we socks. Ditto in school. The school would ask us to 'kindly wear sandals' to school, jus to get rid of the awful smell. Biggest problem of course we used to fall sick all the time. It would start with cold and cough, but I have been admitted in the hospital due to water-borne illnesses as well. Sick days meant missed classes. Meant exam pressure...

But the fun part was the rain itself. It was wet and green everywhere. Rare sights and sounds. Of frogs, crickets, confused birds. Oh what fun it was to eat piping hot pakodas , watching the rain from the balcony.

But the situation is now drastically changing. Now the rains are so bad, it is flooding up entire cities. Already more than thirty people have lost their lives due to monsoon-rains. Rampant infrastructure development has lead to traffic jammed roads and blocked drains. There are news of evacuation centres being setup to move people in masses.

Really cannot believe this is the same place I grew up in.

Its almost as if drought and floods are signs of development. When cities are built around cars and houses, it is the people who are left out. And now there are new kinds of illnesses doing the rounds.

The only surety is, things are only going downhill from here. Pardon the pun.

Kozhikode trip

 

Two weeks back we travelled to Kozhikode, to attend a wedding of a friend, and to catch up with others too. Kozhikode is a city in north Kerala, situated right on the west coast in Malabar. I was not looking forward to this trip, partially because I knew how the weather there would be like at this time of the year. But also because I have my own history with the place. The last time I was here was...what..11 years ago ? For my undergraduation I went to an aided college in this district, and had to travel frequently via private buses on this route. There was no direct bus to my college, I had to switch buses at Kozhikode private bus stand, with those half ring curves for its roof. While there, I have had snacks and tea between buses, and very rarely, lunch. And I hated college. Really hated. So when I finally I secured my degree and certificate , I had decided I will never have to come back to this place again.

Well after 11 years I can proudly say the city has not changed much at all. I remember the traffic was always this bad. Specially around the bus stand, those roads are the arteries of the city traffic. And the weather was always this hot. Being so close to the beach, the humidity is always high. The city has this strange habit of clinging on to its past, modernization comes so slowly. Even in this day and age, most of the establishments do not accept credit card or e-wallets for payment. Except only the high end ones. And people still stare at couples walking together in the big city.

And the hotels, they still cling on to their 12-pm-checkin time rule from last century. We had to pay extra on OYO to ensure we could check in at 7 in the morning. Maybe they take up the entire morning to clean up, thus mandating that checkins are only after 12 noon. But what about early morning travellers ?

It is a similiar irony at the city's most well known shopping mall, the 'Focus' mall. Surprisingly, this is just opposite the private bus stand I used to travel through as a student. There are a few other malls too, but this one seems to be the most well equipped. Puttakke puttakke karimeen puttakke. All the youngsters are there, and even a lot of families. Kozhikode has a majority muslim population, and they dress conservatively. I still cannot understand how they wear those long black burqas under such a blazing heat. So it was ironical that the branded readymade showrooms in the mall were advertizing and displaying a lot of western wear, things which no body in this city would dare to wear. All those shorts and tights and straps, anybody wearing these would turn heads of the 'traditional' population. Neverthless, people were still checking those clothes out.

The autorikshaw drivers in the city maybe charge the lowest fares in the country. I hope that stays like that for a long long time. We travelled 8 times in autos and paid a total of only 200 rupees ! We would have had to pay about 500 had it been in Bangalore. There is really no need to own a car here, these autos are dependable enough to get around , and they know every nook and cranny and all the secret roads of the city, some I could not even find on google maps !

As always, the city still serves up the best food. Wether it is vegetarian fare, or their cuisines borrowed from Arabia, or their famous biriyanis, the food is lip smacking ! Do visit on an empty stomach. Also one has to visit those famous halwa stands to sample all those colorful halwas, now available in modern flavors of mango and grape !

And another thing which is thankfully still the same, is the cleanliness. It is still the cleanest cities I have visited in my country. Even the beach area is clean and well maintained. The rest of this country and learn something from it.

 

An Unforgettable Onam….

 

…In which we travel via Banaswadi and on Kochuvelly during the Water wars.

Happy Onam. It is easy to wish somebody in two words, but no true Malayalee can explain what Onam really means to us. For many of us, we stay away from our native, only so that we can come back to celebrate Onam. Which is usually easy, travelling is becoming easier and affordable every day. But this year, we had to overcome a different kind of adversity. The violent self-destruction of a state during its water wars.

I will not explain what these water wars are, enough has been said of the matter by the media. We were supposed  to travel from Bangalore to Kerala on Monday, the 12th of September ,2016. The day started pretty well off in Bangalore city, with all its cheer and lovely climate. But shortly after noon, violent erupted when self-appointed 'protectors' of the state started putting public and private property on fire. A very ironical way to agitate against shortage of water. But that is what happened.

By evening, all public and private vehicles were being blocked from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu at their borders. And TN numbered vehicles were being targetted and burned in Bangalore. Our scheduled bus journey in the evening is cancelled by the operator. And we are stuck in the city. Section 144, and shorter version of  a curfew, is imposed very late in the day, after all the damage is already done.

It was safer to stay back home that day. The next day, there was still no decision if vehicle movement has been restored at the border. So we wait. It was the first day of Onam, when back home in Kerala, Malayalees would throng the markets for purchases. Last minute groceries to clothes, to shopping for Onam discounts. We were supposed to be there, but instead, were stuck 500 kilometers away.

That evening, I began to check travel sites. All private buses had stopped operations, there was no need to take such a huge risk and endanger the lifes of the crew and travellers as well. But it seemed, the trains were still on track. Pun intended. None of the trains bound to Kerala had been stopped. Instead, the railways had arranged for special extra trains to carry people stuck in the city back home. It was probably the only positive action taken by somebody in power that day. But these special trains were unreserved, and  undoubtedly crowded. So I decided not to opt for them.
 
So I checked the IRCTC site, and found that the last train to leave from Bangalore to Kerala was at 9pm. A non-daily , all AC reserved train called the Kochuvelly garibh-rath. It was scheduled to start from a station on the north side of the city (Yeshwantpur), which was faar away from where we were staying. And it had only one other stop in the city, at a small station called Banaswadi. Although I had heard of the name of the place many times before, I had never known it had its own railway station. That place was still far away, but still commutable. There were no direct buses from our location. We had to rely either on radio-cabs, or take three different buses to get there. BMTC public transport buses were still plying, but not to all places. All the major taxi operators had closed their offices, but some cab drivers , who were willing to take the risk, were still driving around.

And so the first miracle. The train was still accepting reservations, and there were berths available ! Unbelievable. I booked confirmed berths for our travel. Now all we needed was to get to the station on time. So we started attempting to book cabs on Ola. We tried other radio cabs as well,but they were not available.

Due to the curfew like situation in the city, lights had been turned off everywhere to prevent people from grouping together. Street-lights were off.  And the shops were still shut down, so no lighting from there either. It was an eery feeling walking through the city in pitch darkness. I have only seen a fully lit metro-city in Bangalore during nights. All the traffic lights had defaulted to yellow, so it was a free-for-anyone on the junctions. The lesser number of vehicles helped, but those vehicles were driving all over the place.

And then the second miracle. We had been trying to get a cab to Banaswadi. Finally, after more than an hour of pushing buttons on the app, a cab responded. There was a shared cab available to travel to Banaswadi.

Things were back on track now. It took some time to find the Ola-cab, then a one hour journey to the destination. This is the first time that Ola actually sent a cab when we really really needed one.

The Banaswadi station was shorter than the length of a train compartment. It was a small locality with secluded roads, and nicely tucked away. And it was crowded. The crowd was overflowing through the front steps into the yard. And I could hear a lot of Malayalam and Tamil being spoken. Clearly they were all from neighbouring states and were waiting to travel home. We had arrived an hour prior to the scheduled departure time of our train. So we waited, and watched, as trains chugged in and out and ferried off stranded passengers. More passengers arrived via autos and cabs, a family was dropped off by 5 youngsters on their bikes.

Our Kochuvelly express was the last train to Kerala that night. And we could see the whole train was booked and boarded by anxious Malayalees who were travelling home for their state's biggest festival.

Now after celebrating Onam, we still have not decided how we are going to get back. Its now TN's turn to agitate. A day-long bandh has been called in the state, and buses and trains will be stopped at the Karnataka-TN border.

I hope the journey back is less adventurous.